Our Beer

Brewers/Founders/Owners/Janitors: Rick Stidham and Jerry Nawrocki

RICK STIDHAM HAS BEEN BREWING BEER FOR OVER 20 YEARS...

When friend and now brewery co-owner Jerry Nawrocki expressed an interest in homebrewing, Rick bought him his first homebrewing kit as a birthday gift. It turned out that Rick took to the hobby himself and continues brewing today, more than twenty years later. Rick honed his brewing skills with every batch and over the years gained recognition as an award-winning homebrewer, taking home multiple best-of-show awards in competition.

When Rick decided to create the brewery, Jerry was the natural choice for business partner, having started Rick's passion for beer with a curiosity of his own and the two having been friends since high school. Together they started Akasha Brewing Company.

From humble beginnings brewing 5-gallon batches in a kitchen at home, we now brew 15 barrels at a time, and serve up to 15 of our own beers, brewed on-site, at any given time. From the light, crisp, and drinkable Fehr's XL to the tart classic Gose, the taproom lineup has something for all beer lovers.

Taproom

Our East Market Street taproom is the perfect place to relax and have a few pints from our 24-tap draft wall. The taproom features lots of board games, arcade games, outdoor seating for when the weather's nice, a 100-inch video projector, and even a couple of TVs. We love well-behaved dogs, so bring your furry friend if they'd like.

Our neighbors, Feast BBQ and Grind Burger Kitchen make some of the best food around, and we encourage you to bring in any food you’d like. Grind will even bring your burger over when it’s ready. We host pop-up brunches and dinners from time to time, so keep an eye on our Facebook or check out our Events page for events that we host at the brewery and festivals we will be pouring at.

Minors are welcome when accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Non-alcoholic beverages and snacks are available

Fehr's

Frank Fehr Brewing Co was one of the largest and most-loved breweries in Louisville.Fehr's XL was the beer of our grandparents, and now we've brought the same crisp flavor into the 21st century.

History of fehr's

Frank Fehr began brewing at the Fehr's City brewery in 1872 at what is now Liberty street between Preston and Jackson streets. The Brewery produced 593 barrels of beer the first year and by 1903 had expanded to produce 120,000 barrels of beer. Fehr's XL lager won the southern exposition in from 1883-1888 and was said to be the most widely consumed beer in Louisville. The City Brewery closed in 1964, and the last 7000 barrels of beer were dumped down the drain to avoid paying taxes on the beer.

We've brought back the crisp, clean flavor of Fehr's XL, brewing the beer right here in Louisville using Fehr's pre-prohibition lager recipe ..